Turbodimension Neptunia
by Dilnos521
Summary: In every dimension, there seems to be different heroes unique to them, whether major or minor. In this dimension, Rocky Dalton is someone who wasn't originally of this world. Starting five days after he arrived, what lies in store for his time in a new dimension? Is there anything or someone else that arrived with him? Will have elements from across the series. Rated T for now.
1. A Boy's First Battle

**Okay...I wonder how this one will go...**

 _ **Should be fine. We mean, you're just doing this one to see what readers think of it.**_

 **Right...**

 **Well, hello, and welcome to the first chapter of this story. Sorry if the summary isn't the best right now; I needed to think of something, and right now it's the best I could do given the time I uploaded this chapter.**

 **In case you don't really know who I am, my name's Dilnos521.**

 _ **Username. And...you know they can see your name up on the screen, right?**_

 **Look, I'm already expecting Neptune to come crashing through the fourth wall riding something she shouldn't be. At least let me cover some bases before the carnage starts...**

 _ **...Right. This is in that series, isn't it? Alright, but don't complain about us breaking the fourth wall.**_

 **Yeah, yeah.**

 **Anyways, beforehand I started on a crossover between this series and one I had started in, and, well...I figured I'd try a story that's Hyperdimension Neptunia only. New protagonist, some old ideas from back in my fanfic-writing career-**

 ** _Same writer who's working on multiple stories...and needs to update his main one..._**

 **...You're not named yet in this set of notes, you know...**

 _ **Touché. We are Lionelis.**_

 **Anyways, I am going to have to cut it short here, but let's get going with the story. I'll let you guys know some things after the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer:** The author does not own anything he writes in here. The only thing he owns is the main male character of this story as well as any new characters he makes for this or weapons. HDN belongs to Idea Factory and Compile Heart, with other characters being based on companies. Or something...been a while since I had to work up a disclaimer. Also, warning: this is a new dimension being made specifically for this story. As such, this will be a mixture of a lot of sources, and of course being HDN there will be cameos and references, so when they appear the disclaimer will extend to include them being owned by their respective creators and companies. Also, cameos (if they ever happen) will be covered by this as well, and this disclaimer may be adjusted accordingly at any time.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 1: The Goddess, Her Sister, and The Oracle (A Boy's First Battle)**

"Aww, why do I have to go check on the new guy?" Neptune complained as she, Histoire, and Nepgear were walking through the Basilicom, looking for a particular room.

"Because you're the one who let him stay here!" Histoire reminded her before sighing. "Besides, aren't you the least bit concerned about him? He's been training pretty much non-stop for the last five days."

Neptune waved off the matter. "Oh, it's not that bad. I mean, it's not like Noire doesn't do that anyways."

"Noire also doesn't slack off like you do! (；￣Д￣）"

"Um, I've been bringing him meals since he's been in there…" Nepgear piped up.

Histoire calmed down a bit. "And that's good and all, Nepgear. However, neither of you bothered to stop him?"

"He was looking like he was enjoying it a bit."

Histoire sighed again. "I still don't know why Vert gave us her new device. It's a bit weird, to be honest. (・_・ヾ"

"Duh!" Neptune told her. "We're at a time of peace, so it's natural. Besides, it does help keep us trained…"

"...When Neptune uses it…" Nepgear added.

Neptune then glanced at the door they just stopped in front of. "Anyways, how do you think he's doing?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Standing inside an open field, a Guard Vermin was busy staring down its opponent, a young man.

"You know," the man said as he was busy checking one of his weapons, a small gunblade, "I've been handling you guys almost non-stop for the last hour. And somehow I'm not as tired as I think I should be...though I wonder what time it is." He then watched as a menu popped up over his eyes, showing the time as "2:00 PM". "Uh, thanks for the heads-up?" Making sure his gunblade looked fine, he slid the weapon into his right hand and reached behind him for his other gunblade, pulling it out of its sheath. "Alright, just gotta let the old twins flex their muscles more, huh?"

The Guard Vermin roared and readied its blade before the man charged at it, the gunblades shifting so that a blade formed under each barrel. He then jumped over a swing made by it and slashed at it before he felt the area start fizzing on and off. Landing on the ground, he raised an eyebrow and said to no one in particular, "Pause simulation."

The Guard Vermin, which had been swinging its weapon towards him, froze.

"Terminate program," the man added as the area fizzed out, leaving him in a rather empty room save for a black rectangular-looking camera of sorts, a black controller laying next to it. "Now...is that thing acting up? Because if it is…"

"Hey there!" a familiar-sounding voice said from behind him.

"Aah!" Swinging his right gunblade and pulling the trigger a bit to withdraw the blade, he brought it to bear on the noisemaker.

"Eep!" a young-looking lilac-haired girl squeaked as she stepped back a bit. She seemed to wear a sort of hoodie for a dress, with cyan-and-white tube socks. She also seemed to have a set of two D-Pads in her hair, which was in a sort of short style. "Don't shoot! It's just me!"

"Hmm?" The man noticed that she looked scared, so he flicked the trigger for switching the mode of the other gunblade and set them in their sheaths, located behind the small of his back. "Oh, sorry...wasn't expecting you of all people to come in here while I was training…"

"Yeah, yeah," the girl said quickly, ignoring his comment. "So anyways, how have you been holding up?"

"Rather fine, I guess." The man scratched his head in slight confusion. "I've trained against a lot of different monsters, at least." He then started off on the types. "Let's see...started with Dogoos for a warm-up, moved on to Pixelvaders, Clydes, Terits...I managed to handle about three Guard Vermins and was working on the fourth when you barged in."

"I see," a small fairy sitting on a book told him. "However, I do advise against doing any more training. Have you even slept since you started?"

"Hmm...yeah. I did have to leave the simulation on so I could simulate being outside."

The fairy sighed. "So that explains the increased power usage at night… (¬_¬)"

"Told ya I wasn't playing games at night!" the lilac-haired girl told her.

"That's good to hear…" the third girl, who seemed to look like an older version of the first girl in a sense, said. She wore a sailor uniform as a dress and used lilac-and-white stockings with sneakers of sorts. She also seemed to have a wallet or something strapped to one of her thighs. "I was a bit worried that you would have pushed yourself a bit too much."

"It's nothing, Nepgear," the man said, waving off the remark. "I know my limits."

"Hey, why do you sound like you're getting chummy with my little sis?" the first girl asked him in an accusatory tone, even going as far to point at him with her left hand.

The man adopted a sort of saddened state for a bit. "She just reminds me of someone I used to know...back where I came from…"

"Anyways, Neptune?" the fairy continued. "Now that we've gotten his attention, isn't there something we should add? (o˘д˘)o"

"Oh, right!" the girl, Neptune, replied as she looked at the man. "Histy here wanted me and Nep Junior to handle a Quest, and she suggested that we ask you to tag along. You know, since you've been training non-stop."

"Oh," the man said. "That's it? You just...came in here to interrupt me to ask that?" He then sighed. "Well, no use going back to training when you put it like that. I'm pretty sure I needed to see the outside world sooner or later, anyways. Fighting Guard Vermins for another day like some of the others doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Alright!" Neptune sounded happy.

"Don't forget, Neptune: this is no time to slack off (¬､¬)," the fairy, "Histy" admonished her.

"Don't worry your little wings off, Histy! With...well, this guy, we can't lose this one!"

"Speaking of...what is your name?" Nepgear asked him. "You kinda just got found, asked us some questions, requested an area to train, and left…"

"Um...it's nothing important, really…" the man admitted.

"Ooh! Maybe it's something embarrassing like 'Fluffy'," Neptune told her sister.

"Neptune, that's not a nice thing to assume…" Nepgear replied before she remembered something. "Oh! Do you mind joining our party for this, mister?"

"Right," the man said as he watched something pop up in front of him. Looking at it and seeing it as a request to join a party, he accepted and watched as his HUD popped up to reflect the new change: he was able to see Neptune's and Nepgear's status, at the bottom of his vision and on the left or middle respectively. To their right was his, which…

"Roquefort Dalton?"

"Yeah, that's my name. Why, is something wrong with it?"

"No, but...it does seem a bit...long…Is there something shorter?"

"Well, you could use 'Rocky'. I personally prefer it due to having some issues when introducing myself."

"Ooh!" Neptune said quickly. "Can I call you 'Rock'?"

Rocky looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong with 'Rocky'?"

"What's wrong with 'Rock'?"

"I'm not a blue robotic boy going on a mission to defeat the Robot Masters and get their crap, Neptune." Rocky then slapped his forehead. "Okay, I don't know where the hell that one came from...but please try to refrain from calling me that. I'm guessing that you won't do it, though…"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, Rock. All we have to do is go check out the area Histy gave us and clear out any monsters we find. There should be a cave around here, and she wants us to look in there as well."

Such were Neptune's words as she was reading off a piece of paper "Histy" had given her. Well, "reading off" was not the best set of words.

"So...search and destroy?" Rocky asked as he scratched his head.

"Yeah," Nepgear told him. "But...I don't really see any monsters here…"

Rocky lowered his hand. "Alright, we should split up. Nepgear, you go that way." Rocky pointed to his left using his left hand. "Neptune, you go that way," he then pointed to his right. "And I'll take-"

"I'll catch you later!" Neptune called out as she ran off.

Rocky had little time to react. "Hey, wait!" By that time, Neptune was gone. "...And she ran off...great…" He then sighed.

 **[Neptune has left your party...]**

"Do you mind if I stick with you, Rocky?" Nepgear asked him.

Rocky blinked as he faced her. "Hmm? How come?"

"I...I just wanna." Nepgear looked a bit uneasy.

 _Hmm...can she transform like Neptune and the other CPUs?_ Rocky asked himself. _For that matter...are there others aside from them...wait, why don't I ask her about it?_

"You alright, Rocky?" Nepgear asked him.

"Yeah, just thinking a bit," Rocky told her.

"Oh. well, since we're here, I should teach you the combat basics just in case." Nepgear then spotted a small group of three Dogoos nearby. "Oh! I found some enemies you can practice on. Ready to start?"

"Yeah," Rocky nodded as he readied his gunblades. "Gemini ready!"

 **[BATTLE START!]**

Rocky then watched as he received his HUD across his vision. In the lower left corner was his current health and SP bars (the former being green at the moment and the latter being blue), with numbers sitting just below each bar. These were accompanied by a small portrait of his face. Above his things were Nepgear's, hers having a portrait as well but lacking the numbers. In the lower right corner was a small circle with some commands for him to see, with a small square above that showing him the name of his current weapon set. His commands at the moment were "Attack", "Defend", "Shoot", and "Sidestep", Above that was a purple bar that seemed to keep track of his set's current...something. He knew that this was showing how much "AP" was left before he had to do something.

 **[Rocky:** 1100/1100 HP, 250/1000 SP, 100/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: Gemini; **Nepgear:** 100% HP, 25% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber **]**

"Alright, Rocky," Nepgear started, "I know that you have experience fighting things, but I want to show you how to fight in this dimension, alright?"

"Alright…?" Rocky asked more than replied.

"Good. To start with, I should begin with explaining some of your heads-up display. Or do you want me to skip that part?"

"I guess...fill me in. I want to make sure I understand this in the heat of battle."

"Right! Your health is indicative of your status. This will change colors based on your condition, with green being alright. You'll see the other colors when you lose more health, but for now this is the starting color. Your Es-Pee meter shows how much energy you have for Es-Pee skills. On the right should be your commands, fueled by Action Points, or Eh-Pee. If you run low on Eh-Pee, you need to switch your weapon to allow it to recharge."

"What about your status?"

"Just above yours is any teammates you have in your party. You can have up to three others fighting alongside you, but for now it's just us." They then looked at a Dogoo. "Better try some attacks. Just use your Attack command."

Rocky ran up to it and swung the blade of his right gunblade against the Dogoo, seeming like time stopped as something popped up in his vision.

 _[Congratulations! You've hit the enemy. If you notice, you expended some points from your AP meter. Each command has a cost that is required to take those actions.]_

Coming back to, Rocky swung his left gunblade and struck the Dogoo once more. He repeated this twice more (once more with each weapon) before he jumped into the air a bit and brought them down for a downward diagonal slash from the right to the left.

 _[Each command can be used in a row up to a particular amount of times before having to reset the chain. This knowledge can also be used to chain into different commands at the drop of a hat. For instance, try using an "Attack" command followed by a "Shoot" command.]_

Rocky swung his right gunblade into his target before he flicked the left gunblade's trigger to withdraw the blade so he could fire a shot at point-blank range.

 _[There you go! Now, you should notice by now that your available AP is low. This will recharge over time, but the recharge rate is quicker when the weapon set is not in use.]_

"How's your weapon's energy right now, Rocky?" Nepgear asked as she sliced a Dogoo into oblivion.

"About…" Rocky started as he stared at his HUD for a bit. "...thirty-five points left?"

"Let me handle this for a bit."

 _[You can also call out for allies to execute commands. For instance, Nepgear is currently on the offensive. If you need her to defend or help someone, just give the word. On the other hand, allies will ask for help as well. Try to help them out when you can. You might be rewarded after the battle is over.]_

"Nepgear, don't push yourself, but keep on them," Rocky said as he watched Nepgear slice his Dogoo in half, making it disappear in a stream of data. He then noticed that the third Dogoo had slammed itself against Nepgear, making her stumble back while it bounced towards him.

"Dogoo!" it called out as it jumped at him.

 _[If you find yourself needing to avoid taking a hit, you can use a command under the Defensive family. For instance, you have "Guard" and "Sidestep". Guarding commands can be held for long periods of time, but they require a base cost to execute and drain your AP meter by a set amount each second, which can be increased via more attacks to the defenses. Perform a "Guard" command now!]_

"Whoa!" Rocky called out as he raised his gunblades in a defensive position. He felt the Dogoo slam into his defenses as he felt some damage from it.

 _[Be careful! While guarding helps reduce the damage, this is still damage that gets through. In order to defend without this effect, you must be able to perform a "Perfect Guard". However, for the sake of tutorials, we must push on, but bear this in mind.]_

The Dogoo flew off his defenses as Rocky relaxed **[Rocky:** 923/1000 HP, 327/1000 SP, 23/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: Gemini; **Nepgear:** 82% HP, 32% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber **]**. It then lunged at him once more.

 _[Dodging commands are more practical than Guarding commands in that they have only a base cost to perform. However, these commands require timing in order to be effective. Try to time it so that enemy attacks are almost going to hit you.]_

Rocky sidestepped the Dogoo's lunge, making it hit a tree. It then slid to the ground, confused.

 _[Perfect! Also note that most dodging commands cannot avoid area of effect skills or attacks. Also, the effectiveness and timing is different between types; sidestepping works best for tackles while roll-dodging helps reposition yourself away from any enemies who have a long reach.]_

Rocky then fired at the Dogoo with his left gunblade before he flicked the trigger on his right one and fired a shot with that as well. He then watched as the Dogoo dissipated into data before his HUD disappeared. He then flicked the gunblades so the blades retracted before he twirled them around and slid them into the holsters he had behind his back.

 **[VICTORY! +15 XP, +12 Credits; 8 XP required to level up.]**

"Does this always happen around here?" Rocky asked Nepgear as he looked at his partner, who was busy trying to clean some blue slime off her.

"Yeah," Nepgear told him. "You get used to it after a while. Did you have a tutorial pop up?"

"Uh...so that was why time felt it stopped…"

"Yeah. The first time I entered a fight, I had the same thing happen to me. Course, you get used to it all after a while, like I said."

"I see." He then looked puzzled. "Hey, do you need some time to clean up?" He then remembered something. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just...got tackled by a Dogoo, that's all. Nothing some Healing Grass can't fix."

"Healing Grass? Sounds familiar…"

"It's a basic healing item around here." Nepgear then reached behind her back and produced a handful of some blue-colored grass. "Here. Take some; it'll help you regain lost health."

"Uh, thanks." Rocky took some and then realized something. "Um...where do I apply it?"

"Hmm?" Nepgear blinked. "Oh, right! You can either ingest it or you can apply it to a specific area. Like, if you get a cut or something, you just lay it there and the rest is taken care of." She then pointed at his forearms. "You have one on your right forearm there. Try there."

"Alright," Rocky took some of the grass and applied it to where Nepgear told him, feeling a slight sting before he felt better. "Thanks."

"Make sure you have some healing supplies on you if you lack healing spells. You never know what might happen."

"Sure. So what about you?" He then noticed Nepgear...blushing? "Nepgear?"

"S-sorry, but...mine is...well...you know…"

Rocky raised an eyebrow before he realized what she was referring to. "Oh, um...sorry." He then turned around. "Why don't you ingest it, though?"

"I...don't like the taste, so I try not to eat it…anyways, this will only take a few seconds." Nepgear made some motions, of which the narrator won't describe (mainly because you can kinda imagine it yourselves…) before she added, "Alright, you can turn around now, Rocky."

"Okay." Rocky then looked back at Nepgear. "So..how do you think Neptune is doing?"

"Neptune's fine...I hope…"

"Right. Somehow, I do feel like she can handle herself." Rocky then nodded his head. "Alright, we better keep going. Maybe we can find her in the cave...if we even find it."

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later (along with the battles they had to deal with), the two managed to find a rather large cave that seemed to be...well, something.

"Hey," Nepgear said quietly. "Do you think this is the cave Histoire wants us to look into?"

"I'm not sure," Rocky said as the two hid behind a rock near the entrance. Looking deeper into the cave, he added in a loud voice, "Hey! Anyone home?"

"What the goodness?!" Nepgear took a step back in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"Relax, Nepgear." Rocky then looked at her. "I'm sure you can handle this. After all, you're Neptune's little sister, right?"

"...Yeah, but still…"

"Anyways, there's no one home." Rocky then got out from behind the cover. "Now, come on, Nepgear. Better look in and see what's here."

"Uh, right!" Nepgear followed his lead, her Beam Saber at the ready.

"I'd like to find a torch or something around here to see in here."

"Torch, huh? Well, I don't have one, sorry...but I have something that should work!" Nepgear reached behind her back with her left hand and pulled out a flashlight. "I always try to carry a light in case I need it."

"Al...right...do I wanna know why?"

"It's just a habit when I'm working on things."

"...I will just...accept that for now…" _Was the girl who Nepgear reminds me of like this as well?_ the boy added before shaking his head. _Better focus on this now…_ "Anyways, can you shine some light on the matter?"

Nepgear chuckled a small bit. "Please don't try making a pun like that again…"

"...That was a pun?"

Nepgear turned on her flashlight and pointed it down the cave. "Seems to be a bit...dark...weird…"

"What makes you say that?"

"Usually when Neptune takes me to a cave for a Quest or I need to do a Quest that involves one, there's some natural lights with the surroundings. Here...it's just unsettling."

"True…" Rocky drew his right gunblade from behind his back, making sure that it was in its gun mode. "I'll keep Pollux on hand."

"Wait, you have a name for them?"

"Well...yeah...I kinda hate to admit it, but I didn't make both gunblades. Someone I knew had made Pollux, which was unnamed at the time, and I, well…" Rocky then noticed something off. "Hey, we haven't entered a single battle yet. Shouldn't we have by now?"

"Maybe Neptune took care of this place before we got here? Anyways, what were you saying about the names?"

"Oh, it's...some sort of myth somewhere...I think…But there were these two twins, one being immortal and the other being…"

Nepgear brought her weapon at the ready. "Hold on, Rocky. I think I heard something."

Boom...

"...What's that sound?" Rocky asked as he pointed Pollux down the cave.

"I'm not sure," Nepgear told him. "How close are we from the entrance?"

"Um…" Rocky looked behind him and didn't see the entrance behind him. "Hey, did we turn a corner or something?"

"Last I checked, we did."

"Okay, so…"

 **Boom.**

"It sounds like it's getting closer," Nepgear added.

"Yeah, I can hear that," Rocky replied as he tried thinking of something. "Could we try doubling back and seeing if we can find Neptune? Nah, that's a bit too risky. We'd have to know where Neptune is first, and we can't leave this thing unattended...but we also don't know how to fight this enemy...what to do…"

 **BOOM!**

Nepgear and Rocky looked at the path and soon found themselves staring at…

"Oh, why does it have to be this…?" Rocky asked as the two looked at the Guard Vermin standing there.

"Maybe that's the reason why we didn't have anything else fighting against us," Nepgear pondered. "Any ideas?"

"We're level...four now, right?"

"Yeah. Well, last I checked."

"Hold up, though. How come you're level four as well?"

Nepgear blushed in embarrassment a bit. "Well…"

"...Really? You're blushing right now?"

The Guard Vermin gave off a roar, making the two cover their ears however they could. For Nepgear, she was able to cup her hands over her ears a bit. For Rocky, however, he had to use his left hand along with his right shoulder in order to protect them. "What do you suggest?"

"Um...let's...try getting out?" Rocky turned and hightailed it, Nepgear following close behind. The sounds of the Guard Vermin giving chase followed them. "How's your experience fighting a Guard Vermin?"

"Guard Vermin? Um...none at all."

Rocky blinked as they ran. "None at all? How in the world did you guys have data on it for me to train on then?"

"They're rare to find, and the few that were found were taken care of by very experienced adventurers."

"Like?"

"Like, around level three hundred."

"...That's extremely high…"

"Those same adventurers were also rather old." Nepgear then thought about what she said, adding profusely while sounding like she was apologizing, "Not like that! I meant to say that they've had time to get there, not that they're elderly!"

"That's nice to know! Now, less talking, more running!"

Suddenly, the two ran outside the cave as the Guard Vermin caught up to them, slamming its sword into the ground. Rocky, having looked behind him to check for any signs of their pursuer, had pushed Nepgear away from the site just before, and the force behind the attack sent both of them in different directions. Nepgear barely landed on her feet, crouching down as her Beam Saber was still in her right hand. Rocky twisted himself around in order to land against a tree he had reached, hopping off it and landing on the ground softly.

"I guess we've got no choice now, huh?" Rocky asked as his HUD appeared over his vision, his left hand readying the other gunblade.

"Guess not," Nepgear added.

 **[BATTLE START!]**

"I'll take the first strike!" Rocky called out as he ran up to the Guard Vermin, who was busy trying to pull up its weapon. "Let's see how you like this!" He then performed two Attack commands on it, backing off as Nepgear hopped in with her weapon ready. However, the Guard Vermin knocked her away as it got its sword out of the ground, and it stared at the two. "You alright, Nepgear?"

"Yeah," Nepgear said as she steadied herself. "I'll be fine. We need to get it destroyed."

"Right. Hmm...you goddesses can transform, right?"

Nepgear seemed like she froze up a bit. "Yeah...but…"

"Then I'll distract it while you get transforming." Rocky then dashed at the Guard Vermin, who had decided to try swinging its sword horizontally. He was forced to guard against it and was holding the blade, causing some of his health to start draining from the lock.

"Rocky...I…"

"Nepgear, any time to transform, please do." Rocky felt the Guard Vermin pull its sword back as it decided to try slamming it into the ground, the boy barely avoiding it by using a Sidestep command.

"Rocky, I...I do…"

"...Nepgear?" Rocky stopped and looked at the girl. "Why aren't you transforming?"

"Because I can't transform!" Nepgear said it as if she was trying to get it off her chest.

Rocky blinked as he took in the information. "Wait, you can't...what?"

"I can't transform! I haven't been able to yet!"

Rocky blinked some more before he felt the Guard Vermin's sword slam into him. This knocked him away from the field of battle, slamming into a tree hard. **[Rocky:** 547/1850 HP, 453/1225 SP, 58/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: Gemini **]**

"Rocky!" Nepgear shouted before she found the enemy looking at her. She then gulped. "W-well...I guess I'll have to fight this until he gets back up...I hope I can do it." She then shook her head. "No. I can do this. I will protect everyone." She then charged at the Guard Vermin and called out, " _Mirage Dance!_ " She then performed a dance of sorts, slashing at the Guard Vermin four times before she slid past it with a slash. "I hope that worked." She then looked at the enemy's current health and paled a bit. "What the goodness?!" While she did do a considerable amount of damage, she just now realized that boss-tiered enemies usually had a ridiculous amount of health to avoid simply killing them quickly for newbies.

Nepgear had no time to think about how to counter it because she saw that the Guard Vermin was getting ready to spin, and she took the time to perform a command she had equipped to her Beam Saber, "Dodge", getting out of its range. She then readied her weapon and slid it along the ground, shouting, "Slash Wave!" before a small wind slid along the ground and hit the Guard Vermin.

Giving off an impressive roar, the Guard Vermin stomped the ground before swinging its sword downward, crashing into the ground. Nepgear raised her weapon to block some of the debris, but a large chunk of rock brushed by her left side, turning her around just enough for a bigger piece to slam into her. She then found herself on the ground, her right arm pinned by the offending debris.

"Oh goodness…" she moaned as she tried tugging on the arm, finding it to be stuck for the moment. "What do I do?" **[Nepgear:** 31% HP, 12% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber **]**

She then looked at the Guard Vermin as it pulled its sword out of the ground, crawling slowly towards her. She then watched as it raised the blade up high, intent on finishing her off.

 _If that attack connects without a Guard command to protect me…_ the CPU Candidate thought to herself, _...that's going to hurt really bad, if not outright kill me. Hang on, CPUs can't simply be killed...but…_ She then remembered her partner. _Where's Rocky?_

The Guard Vermin brought its attack on her, and Nepgear could only close her eyes as she blocked out everything but her HUD, ready to tell her the effects of the attack.

"Not so fast!" she heard Rocky's voice call out.

CLANG!

Nepgear flinched a bit as she checked her status. She didn't seem to lose any health from the attack, so unless it missed or she had a lot of defenses it had to have done something. She decided to hazard a peek and opened her eyes…

Only to find Rocky in front of her, holding the Guard Vermin's attack at bay with a purple-tinted blade. To her, it seemed to be a jian sword.

She then realized something that seemed off: to her knowledge, Rocky never showed her, Neptune, or Histoire any other weapons he had apart from Gemini, and that was because he had those on him upon their first meeting. So how did he get a new weapon that quickly? Unless…

"You alright, Nepgear?" Rocky asked her.

Nepgear blinked and shook her head to clear her mind before replying with, "Yeah!"

"Good." Rocky then shoved the Guard Vermin's sword to the side, making it hit the rock and making it easier for Nepgear to get back into battle by freeing her caught limb. "Better heal up while you can, right?"

"Right!" The CPU Candidate stood up and pulled out a clump of Healing Grass, placing them into her mouth. She grimaced a bit before she swallowed, soon feeling the effects. She then pulled another clump out and handed it to Rocky. "Here you go!"

"Thanks." Rocky did as she did and swallowed it with little fuss. "Now, ready?"

"Yeah!"

 **[Rocky:** 1547/1850 HP, 453/1225 SP, 70/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: ?; **Nepgear:** 99% HP, 12% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber **]**

"Alright, think you can send out an Es-Pee Skill?" Nepgear asked her partner.

"Es-Pee Skill?" Rocky asked her.

"Try to focus and think about opening your Es-Pee Skill menu. If you have a skill there, you can use it. Make sure you have enough for it, though."

"Alright." Rocky focused and watched as a menu appeared in place of his commands, following the same wheel-like design. In the top slot was one skill: "Aura Slash". Deciding that it was better than the alternative, he decided to call it out. " _Aura Slash!_ " He pointed his weapon to his left before slashing to the right, creating a crescent-shaped projectile of energy that crashed into the Guard Vermin.

"There you go! Congratulations!"

"Better keep the pressure up, then." Rocky then charged ahead and checked his current command list for the jian sword (he had no idea what it was called at the moment, and he wasn't even sure what a jian sword was; it kinda just appeared in his head). On his list at the moment were "Attack" and "Guard" only. "This is kinda boring right now...but whatever. Gives me a reason to try some tricks."

 _[If you recall, using commands will expend your available AP, which can be refilled slowly. However, shifting into different weapon sets will allow it to recharge at a better rate, making this approach ideal. Try shifting from your new weapon set back to Gemini's]_

Rocky then performed his "Attack" command four times in a row, slashing at his opponent before he focused and switched the jian sword out for Gemini. Taking aim, he used a "Shoot" command to hit it some more. "Nepgear!"

"Right!" Nepgear hopped in and slashed at it herself, calling out another Mirage Dance in order to deal as much damage as she could. They then watched as the Guard Vermin fell onto its knees.

 _{Guard Vermin has entered Guard Break!}_

This notification popped up in their HUD as the Guard Vermin stayed where it was.

 _[When certain conditions are met, an enemy will enter a state known as a Guard Break. It is at this point that the enemy is most vulnerable, so deal as much damage as you can before it recovers.]_

"We have to hit it hard, Rocky!" Nepgear told him.

"Any ideas?"

"I'm out of Es-Pee, so…"

Rocky focused and brought up his SP Skills menu, finding a different skill where the last one was. "Huh...do skills shift based on weapons?"

"Not sure?" Nepgear raised an eyebrow. "I mean, my weapons are about the same, so I don't really know. Neptune might know a bit more about it."

"Right...I'll just use it anyways." Rocky raced up to the Guard Vermin and readied Gemini's blades. "Double Cross…" He slashed upwards in an X formation, hopping into the air before he came back down hard, creating another X formation. "...Slash!"

Once he finished the skill, the Guard Vermin fell onto its back and started squirming around a bit before it laid still, disappearing in a burst of data later.

 **[Victory! +125 XP, +635 Credits, Rocky's Leveled Up! 4 - 6, Nepgear's Leveled Up! 4 - 6, 29 XP required to level up]**

"Whew…" Rocky breathed in relief as he put his weapons away. He then watched as a notification popped in his vision. He then read it out loud: "Your connection with Nepgear has forged a new weapon. Long lost since its old wielder's demise, the weapon Neptunia Blade has been granted to you."

 _[Forging friendships will reward you with new weapons for you to use. You are free to access these at any time, but these weapons you earn become stronger when you strengthen the bonds formed. So try your best to make those strong bonds, and be forewarned: if you ever lose the connection or a bond starts weakening, this may have some unexpected side effects...]_

"I'm not the only one who saw the thing about the new weapon, was I?" Rocky asked Nepgear.

"I saw it too in my HUD," Nepgear replied. "I'm not sure what it means, but…" She then smiled. "I'm glad that you have a new weapon, Rocky! It will definitely help in future battles, I just know it!"

Rocky chuckled lightly. "Alright. Well, it's still not too bad. A new weapon, some decent leveling...now, is that all the enemies?"

"Let's see…" Nepgear reached behind her back and pulled out a small portable device, looking through its data for something. "I see! My N-Gear says that there's...one more monster? Where would…" She then looked up and noticed that a Dogoo had jumped down from a tree and was falling for Rocky's head. "Rocky!"

"Huh?" Rocky turned and looked up in time to notice the Dogoo. "Whoa!"

"Dogoo!" the monster cried before it felt a bullet slam into its body. With the force behind the bullet, the poor sap was sent crashing into a nearby tree, making it disappear in a flash of data.

"Did...someone just…?"

"Hey, you two!" Neptune's voice called out as she was busy walking over to them. She had a small toy pistol in her right hand. "What'd I miss?"

"Um...not much?" Rocky asked before he blinked. "Hey, wait a second! Where the hell were you the whole time?!"

"Oh, I was...looking around for some monsters of my own...Histy never said we had to stick together. Plus, it was more of a chance for the author to get a bit of action for you two going."

"...What?"

"Anyways, I managed to clear out some of the other monsters. There were some tough ones, but…" She then noticed Rocky glaring at her. "What is it?"

"Were you even in the neighborhood when we had to take on the Guard Vermin?"

Neptune blinked in shock. "Wait, you two took on a Guard Vermin?!" She then looked at Nepgear, who nodded her head in agreement. "Hot diggety dog! Nep Junior managed to take down a Guard Vermin without her transformation!" The older sister then hugged her sibling.

"Really, it was nothing…" Nepgear told her. "I mean, if Rocky hadn't blocked the attack and freed me, then…"

"Ah. Still, I would have had an issue with solo-fighting a Guard Vermin outside of my Goddess form, so props to you, my little sis! And of course, you too, Rock."

"I'm not a super fighting robot!" Rocky snapped before blinking yet again. "And what the hell am I talking about?!" The Nep Sisters then chuckled together. "Hey! Don't chuckle like that, dammit!"

 **{Nepgear and Rocky are currently at Partner Rank 1; Neptune and Rocky are currently at Partner Rank 0}**

And so...this was how the adventures of a boy who has been brought into this new world began. There are still some questions that need to be answered.

Who was this "old wielder" of the Neptunia Blade? How come Nepgear feels familiar to Rocky? And more importantly…

What sort of crazy adventures can one boy get into during his times in the world of Gamindustri?

Time to find out...together...in the new dimension...the Turbodimension!

XXXXXXXXXXX

 **Alright! The first chapter of this story is done!**

 _ **Yay...**_

 **...You could stand to be more excited, Lio...**

 _ ***clears throat* Yay...**_

 **...You're not even trying anymore...**

 **Anyways, let me get some notes placed down here:**

 **1) Partner Rank: I use the same term for two other characters in the crossover series (at least, when they come in), but basically I'm calling it that in order to at least make a distinction between Lily Rank (between the girls; not required for weapons) and the term (between Rocky and the character; affects weapons as well as skills, perks, and what-not).**

 **2) Roquefort's/Rocky's weapons: His default weapons, Gemini, are modeled after a fusion of the one from the Kamen Rider series and Lightning's gunblade from the Final Fantasy series. These particular ones he uses are only as long as short swords when the blades are active, and for their Gun Mode they resemble pistols. Their names are also based on the myth of the twins, Castor and Pollux. The names do correspond with their chosen half, with some more detail being given in a later chapter. As for the Neptunia Blade, I based it off a jian sword, which was a weapon a friend of mine told me a bit about for one of my other stories.**

 **3) Flow of Battle: I wanted to simulate a game as much as I could without making it feel too bogged down, so I had to work a bit on it. For the readings, I had to look at an old fanfic I made off this site (if you're interested in which fanfic it was, let me know via PM or review, and I will let you know where to find it). As for the way combat worked, I wanted to simulate the system used in LR:FF13 while trying to make it tailored to the series. As a result, the main way for Rocky to fight is to shift between weapons, which will help him learn strategies to fight tougher enemies. However, with some new commands to use, these are being balanced to provide a different feeling for him (dodging will negate all damage but must be timed properly, while guarding will reduce damage but will be able to negate damage with a perfectly-timed block). How this will work out, as well as adjustments, will be seen later.**

 **4) Misc. Details: Welp...I think I might be cursing myself for saying this, but...this is going to be as big as a collection of everything in the series as I can possibly get. Yeah, even Nisa and Gust will be coming into the picture. However, their roles may not be what you might be. Or maybe they will be. This will also provide a chance to see many different weapons be formed and used by Rocky. Also, I do understand that there is another series that has a similar relationship system to this story's, but there will be major differences (for starters, the Partner Ranks are not limited to a specific group). Still, if you have heard of that series then I'd recommend you going to check it out when you get a chance.**

 **Alright, with that said, let's close it out like usual. Lio?**

 _ **Right...**_

 **Thanks for reading this chapter. If you liked it, please read and respond and let us know what you think.**

 _ **...We really need to fix the outros...**_

 **Hey, who's doing the typing?**

 _ **Does it matter?**_

 **I dunno...**

 **Anyways, also, if you have enjoyed this chapter, let me know. I am only putting this first chapter out to see if people want me to work on this for a while despite referencing more; I do have a few more chapters drafted, but I want to see if it's a god idea. I also need to get to my other series and get that finished for its current entry, so...**

 **Anyways, thanks so much, and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter.**


	2. New Friends!

**Hello, and welcome.**

 **Today is...a bit of a...good day or something? I have Lio off handling another update's notes, so he won't be here this chapter. If you're...you know, curious or like him being here.**

 **Anyways, it's been a while since I put up the first chapter. Like, over a year. I do apologize for that: I've been busy with other things. And...well, relaxing/procrastinating. And RPing. So...yeah.**

 **Really odd that I'm sounding more like my usual self. You'd think I'd be focusing on making sure the notes are somewhat interesting, but I dunno...**

 **Oh! As of the writing of this set of notes, I did look at the traffic for this story a small bit, and...well...**

 **...I got about half of the story's current views in the month I released the chapter (which is currently below 200 views as of this update, if you're curious).**

 **Good news: I think there's definitely some sort of interest, otherwise it'd be much more scattered. So I'm hoping that I can see if the theory is right and see how this chapter does.**

 **Anyways, before we get to the chapter at hand, let me first reply to the reviews (well, review, but still):**

 _ARSLOTHES_ **: Thanks for the review, and sorry it took this long to reply in this section. You know...given you placed reviews for multiple stories with the same kind of wording, if not the exact same, you'd think I'd have more to say, but I'm kinda glad that someone's at least left one. Not that I'm requiring everyone to do it, but it does help a bit to know that someone is reading it. View count doesn't help in seeing who reads it, so I kinda enjoy checking those who favorite, follow, or leave reviews (at least, non-guest reviews unless they specify a username they go by** **). Well, I should get back to doing it so I can kinda see at least what kind of walk of life I can see. Still, as I said, thanks for the review, and I do hope you continue to enjoy reading my work, even if it's not this.**

 **And for everyone, and not just you: feel free to leave me a review if you feel like I could improve on something or if you liked something. or something: I have three more chapters I just have to edit before updating before I have to start catching up, and I hope to continue writing from the last point I stopped in my drafts, so hope to see those come out when I can get them there.**

 **Anyways, with the reviews done for now, let's get to the next chapter! And heads up: I've got an idea I want to run by you guys at the end, so try to hang around until then, okay?**

 **Also, for the chapter drop-down menu, I'll be using the title in parentheses, so be careful in case you jump between chapters in the future. It's just for this story, but I'm prepared to try a different approach for this story as far as chapter titles are concerned.**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 2: The Nurse, the Wind Walker, and Registration (New Friends!)**

After coming back to the Basilicom upon completing the Quest, Rocky was busy staring at Histoire as the two were sitting inside a briefing room of sorts, Rocky having told Histoire about what happened during the Quest they took.

"So I assume that the Quest was done?" Histoire asked him to confirm the news.

"Yeah," Rocky replied as he raised an eyebrow. "Guard Vermin was defeated. I did notice a few things during the fight, though…"

"Hmm? Like what? ( •́ ⍨ •̀)"

"Well...when I told Nepgear to transform...she didn't."

"Oh. Oh dear…"

"Yeah...it kinda threw me for a loop." Rocky looked at Histoire with a worried expression. "So...why can't she transform?"

Histoire sighed a little. "It's not that she can't transform…"

"So...she was feeling pressured or something?"

"...In a sense, yes. Look, I understand whole-heartedly that you came from a different dimension, one you don't seem to either remember or want to talk about, but...in this dimension, Nepgear is relatively young. In a manner of speaking. ┐( ˘_˘)┌"

Rocky looked at her with a weird expression as he took in the information. "So...she's, what, a year old?"

"She's around...fifteen, I guess would be a good age to place her as. That is what she looks like physically. In reality, she's more like...I don't know how to describe it to you… סּ_סּ"

"Somewhat older?"

"...Yeah. She's considered the oldest of the Sea-Pee-You Candidates."

"Erm...why is that?" Rocky tunneled around within his memories and thought about it. From what he recalled, the dimension he was from had the same goddesses, but...he only really knew his mother, and she wasn't really his birth mother.

But...who was she then? She felt similar to Nepgear, so maybe it was her from that dimension...or maybe it was Neptune.

"Are you alright, Roquefort?" Histoire asked the boy.

"Huh?" Rocky asked as he blinked. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all."

"I see. Anyways, out of the four Candidates, she is considered the oldest, but they all are relatively close in creation age."

"Could you, perhaps, explain please, Miss Histoire?"

"Certainly." Histoire then floated over to his face. "You are aware of how a Sea-Pee-You Candidate is created, correct?"

"Um...not quite?"

Histoire backed off a bit as she put on a pair of swirly glasses (where she drew it from he didn't know or probably even want to). She then cleared her throat. "As you know, each landmass is governed by a Console Patron Unit, or goddess, and each vie for Share Energy, which is based on the power of her people's faith in their represented goddess." Rocky nodded his head slowly. "One day, after I had gotten on Neptune about doing Quests to improve her Shares, the collection of the Share Energy, she went out and did the usual things to do with increasing it. Doing Quests, mainly. Anyways, I digress. Some time later, I went down to check on Planeptune's Sharicite and found it to be glowing really bright."

"Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

"In theory, yes. The brighter it is, the more Shares a goddess has. In practice, it's the same concept, but...on that particular day, it was...different. It was extremely bright. And then...just like that, it emitted a flash of blinding light, and when it was over I saw Nepgear standing there. （・□・；）"

"I see. So…?"

"Right, this is where the point comes in. I did a bit of research, and it turned out that when a Sharicite had too much Share Energy inside it, it forced itself to expel the excess energy, which would get redirected into creating someone called a Sea-Pee-You Candidate. Which is what Nepgear is. It's kinda strange, though...my records said that Candidates were able to transform in the past once they were born, but when I asked Nepgear about it we both learned that she was unable to do so. Σ(゜゜)"

"Hmm...does explain why she's unable to transform…"

"I'm fairly sure that she will eventually be able to do so. I just don't know when, sadly."

"Right. Though...you said there were four Candidates, did you not?"

Histoire nodded her head. "Yes. About a few weeks later, Oracle Mina called me wondering about some girls who had materialized from Lowee's Sharicite, and a few weeks after that it was Oracle Kei with the same thing for Lastation's. I headed over there to take a look and learned that their Sea-Pee-Yous had collected a lot of Share Energy and had it happen to them as well. Though it was a bit odd… Σ(゜゜)"

"How?"

"Lastation had one Candidate, but...Lowee ended up with two."

"Twins?"

"Yes. So far, Leanbox is the only one without a Candidate."

"So...why does Neptune call Nepgear her little sister again?"

"...It's easier to think of Nepgear that way. She was created from the excess Share Energy from Planeptune, after all."

"Oh…" Rocky then placed a hand on his chin. "So…Neptune and Nepgear are bonded by the Sharicite…" He then sighed. "So…what about me?"

"Oh...yes...you...did mention something that had happened in the midst of a battle…" Histoire looked nervous about telling him something.

"...Are you alright, Miss Histoire?"

"Oh, yes! It's just…" She then shook her head. "It's nothing to concern yourself over, but...there is something I noticed about the way you summoned that weapon you reported. Has it happened before?"

"I'm...not sure there. It's a first for me that I know of…"

"Sorry, wanted to ask. Anyways, I think I have a theory you can try."

Rocky raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"Could you make another bond with a second girl?"

The young man then blinked in shock. "Hold up! What do you even mean by that?!"

"I just need you to make a sort of connection with another girl. I want to check and make sure of what I'm thinking."

"And that is…?"

"I believe that you may be able to produce weapons based on bonds. I don't have any clear-cut responses, but I know that you should try to at least get one more and let me know what happened."

Rocky then sighed wearily. "Right…" He then stood up and bowed a bit. "Thanks for letting me know, Miss Histoire."

"You're welcome, and thanks for letting me ask you some things. Please get some rest and heed what I told you. （●´･△･｀）"

"Yeah."

Histoire watched Rocky leave the briefing room and let go of a sigh that she didn't realize she had inside her.

 _I'm sure it's nothing,_ she told herself. _However...I cannot let him walk around without looking into this matter further. I've only heard tales of it, but if it's true...then he's the one…_

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, when he woke up, Rocky found himself looking up into the eyes of Neptune, who looked to be staring really hard at him.

"What did I do to make you stare at me while I was asleep...?" he asked the CPU.

"Oh, not much," Neptune told him nonchalantly. "Just that my little sister said that you apparently formed a bond with her and summoned a weapon. No biggie."

"...I have the distinct feeling that this is a 'biggie'..."

Neptune then backed away, allowing Rocky to sit up, albeit slowly. "No, why would I, the main heroine of this series, consider this as being problematic?"

"Because she's your younger sister?"

Neptune then jabbed a finger against Rocky's chest. "Hey, of course she's my younger sister! I'm just protecting her like any big sister should!"

"Still...it's not like I asked for a weapon to appear from that." He still wasn't sure what exactly gave him the ability to even do that.

"...You have a good point." Neptune then snapped her fingers. "Right! I saw my rank with you when I was looking at my little N-Gear, so I know that I have no ranking with you. Well, until I get a weapon out of the deal, you're not leaving my sights!"

"Neptune!" Nepgear's voice called out. "I opened another pack of pudding! Did you want some?"

"Pudding?" Neptune looked ecstatic. "I'll be right there, Nepgear!" To Rocky, she added, "You stay put. We're not done talking here..." She then ran off to go get some pudding.

"I feel she's getting protective…" Rocky told himself, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "Then again, I'm a guy around here. Maybe she's worried I'd get attached to Nepgear romantically or something…"

 _"I believe that you may be able to produce weapons based on bonds."_

Rocky recalled what Histoire had said to him, and he looked at the ground as if in thought.

 _How do I even go about with that?_ Rocky thought. _Nepgear's already gotten a level in the rank. Neptune's at least getting there, but I can't use a weapon or anything because of it. And working on Neptune's might take too long given I'm not sure how the rank is increased. I should find some more girls...or somebody to form a bond with. Hell, maybe a guy might suffice if I just need a friendly bond with them._

"Either way, getting a place where I can find someone is going to be a bit difficult...it's not like I can just go down to a dungeon and pick up a girl…"

"Maybe you can sign up for a Quest?" Histoire suggested. "I believe that Neptune and Nepgear were going to head out on a Quest with some friends. I'm usually not very...intrusive about the matter, but I must ask that you try your luck there."

"Uh...right...where would I find them anyways?"

"You should try the Guild. Lots of adventurers head there to handle Quests and help with gathering Shares for their goddesses."

"I see…" Rocky soon gave off a confused look. "What's a Guild exactly?"

XXXXXXXXXX

You know, sometimes not knowing or remembering what should be basic knowledge is a bad thing…

Rocky rubbed the back of his head, where Histoire had smacked him with a paper fan before having him sit down and listen to her explain about the importance of a Guild as well as where to find one in Planeptune. And this was after grilling him about not knowing about it.

He honestly didn't know…he thought that there used to be Guilds back where he came from, but it was rather…horrid or something back then…he only really remembered being found by his adoptive mom and being raised by her. He didn't really remember too much apart from that and Gemini.

Like he was supposed to forget about what caused him to leave…

"Anyways…" Rocky said to himself as he was walking through the city, following Histoire's directions to get to the Guild. According to what she instructed him to do, he needed to get there and find a person named…IF.

…Okay, something told him that he should remember that name somehow…but where? Maybe Neptune said it one time: she did enjoy chatting when she wasn't eating pudding or playing video games.

Rocky shrugged his shoulders a bit.

It's not too bad, he figured. If he hadn't met her before, then this was the perfect time to meet her.

Unconsciously, the boy slid Castor out of its sheathe behind him and stared at it as if examining it. It looked to be in somewhat good shape, but he had forgotten to look at it after that fight with the Guard Vermin. Or after the Dogoo hit it.

Still, it was rather good for being a weapon he made to complement its…sister? Brother? What gender do weapons usually have when someone's attached to them?

Rocky made sure the safety was off on it as he placed his hands near the trigger, looking to see if it got messed up. To his relief, it didn't seem too bad.

Placing a hand on the main body of his weapon (he would call it a barrel or something, but as it was both a sword and a gun he figured it was easier to describe it as that), he was about to look at it before he ended up bumping into something in front of him. This ended up catching him off-guard, and he fell onto his rear, Castor landing a few feet away. Thankfully, it didn't fire a shot.

"Wow…" Rocky told himself as he looked ahead and found…a body carrying a couple bags of groceries? "What the…? I don't recall groceries growing legs and walking around the city…" He looked carefully at what he could see. From his perspective, there seemed to be a pair of boots with some fuzzy orbs or something hanging off the tops. There also appeared to be a brown pair of thigh-highs that seemed to have frills at the ends, and a tartan plaid skirt covering the rest of the lower body along with a pack or something at her side. He noted arms that seemed to have been covered in a sort of wool sleeve over each arm. "Um…"

"Are you alright?" a feminine voice asked him. It sounded like it came from behind the pile of groceries.

"Yeah…I'm fine…"

"Oh, thank goodness." The voice then seemed to notice Castor. "Um…did I accidentally made you drop that?"

"Hmm?" Rocky crawled over to Castor and picked it up. It seemed to be alright, if not a bit scuffed from the bump. "Yeah. It's alright, though. Thankfully…" He then remembered something. "Hey, um…why are you holding so much groceries?"

"Hmm? Oh, I was planning on cooking something later on for dinner. I'm making something for my friends."

"Oh. Hang on…" Rocky placed Castor back where he pulled it from and went over to the girl (since he could call it that). "Can I help carry some of that?"

"Yes, please."

"Right, let me just…carefully grab something here…" Rocky pulled out a random bag and seemed to uncover a bit of the person behind it. "You know it's not really safe to be carry…ing…" He stopped.

"Is something wrong, mister?" the girl asked him. She seemed to have cream-colored hair along with the same colors in her eyes, and her hair seemed to be a bit…curvy.

"Erm…" Rocky only uttered before he blushed deeply and closed his eyes. "Sorry, but…I didn't really…expect to have bumped into a…cutie like…you…"

"Oh. I see. Um…are you going to be able to help out still, mister?"

"Y-yeah!" Rocky shook his head and cleared some of his blush as he grabbed some more bags, carrying four of them, two in each hand. "So…where are we taking these groceries?"

"My house, silly." The girl then started walking off before she stopped and looked at him. "Oh, what's your name, mister?"

"My name?" Rocky took a deep breath. "It's Roquefort. You can call me Rocky if you want."

"I see. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rocky. My name's Compa!"

 _Compa?_ The boy asked himself. _She definitely feels familiar…but where?_ "Alright. It's good to meet you as well, Compa."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So…what brings you into the city for today?" Compa asked Rocky as the two were now walking around. After delivering her groceries, Rocky had asked where he could find the Guild as he remembered that he needed to get to it and find this "IF" person. Compa said that she was thinking of finding a request there that fitted her profession more, being a nurse-in-training.

That, and she knew someone who would help him out with what he needed. The nurse-in-training called her "Iffy".

"Well, apart from the Guild…" Rocky started as he thought about any other reasons for him being out and about. "I guess I wanted to take a bit of a look-see around. I haven't been around the city long…"

"I see. How long have you been here?"

"About…a week?"

"Oh. What hotel are you staying at?"

"Hotel? It's not like that…I'm actually staying at the Basilicom for a while until I get my bearings…"

"Basilicom?" She then blinked as she realized something. "Do you know Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Uh…yeah…they're Neptune and Nepgear, aren't they?"

Compa clapped her hands together. "Yessy! Wow, you must be lucky to have found them when you did!"

"I kinda just…popped in, but yeah…"

"Don't worry. Hopefully you don't get scared off. Maybe Iffy and I can come by when we get a chance so we can hang out."

"H-hang out?" Rocky's blush returned to his face. _Okay, don't panic: she must want to come to the Basilicom to hang out with the goddesses, that's all it is. I'm just there…_

"Yeah." She then looked at him in a curious way. "Do you…not like the idea?"

"N-no way! Just that you kinda…just said it out of the blue…"

"Sorry, but a friend of Nep-Nep's is a friend of mine! At least, I think so."

 _Very trusting…_ Rocky told himself. "Alright, but first we need to get to the Guild so I can see this…Iffy…"

"Right! Just follow me, Rocky!" Compa grabbed his left hand, which caught him off-guard, and started walking faster.

"W-wait!"

 _{Compa's Partner Rank Progression: 37%}_

XXXXXXXXXX

"So this is the Guild…" Rocky said in awe as he and Compa stepped inside the Guild. It seemed rather huge, with booths for Questers to do things as well as members chatting with other members.

"Yessy!" Compa told him. "The Guild is a kind of cool place to meet other adventurers!"

"Ah. You must be rather popular seeing as you're a nurse who's training."

"Yeah, well…" Compa chuckled nervously. "I'm not really very strong physically in combat. I'm more of a healer…"

"Which is why you should be more popular. I mean, any old idiot can go swinging around a weapon. Why, look at me!"

Compa giggled a bit. "Yeah, but I know that tanks and damage-dealers can get the job done easier. Still, I kinda prefer tackling Quests with friends. Especially with Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge, Iffy, or any grouping of them!"

"Ah. So…I'm taking it by yourself you're more of a newcomer?"

"Yessy! When I do take requests alone, I usually take volunteer work for medical purposes. What about you?"

"Well…I'm new here, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Don't worry: Iffy will help you out. Speaking of…" She then spotted someone. "Hey, Iffy!"

Rocky looked in the direction she shouted that to and found Neptune and Nepgear chatting with a brown-haired girl with a suit that seemed to be fused together to make a pair of shorts and a tank top. Over that was a huge blue jacket that seemed to be a few sizes too big for her, with black, silver, and white detailing. She didn't have the jacket buttoned, and there was also a belt around it that was left unlatched, with a buckle having the letters I and F together. Boots covered her feet, and on her belt were an assortment of cases. Her hair was rather long, reaching down to her waist, and some of it was put up to the side as a ponytail, tied with a green leafy ribbon.

"Uh, hi," Rocky decided to add. "Are you this Iffy person Compa knows?"

Neptune looked over at him and realized that it was indeed him there as she started booking it over to their position.

"Neptune…Pounce!" the CPU called out as she lunged out at Rocky, knocking him down to the ground as she straddled him. "There you are, you sneaky little dogoo!"

"I'm not a dogoo…" Rocky protested weakly. Neptune apparently could tackle hard...who would have thought?

"Histoire told us she sent you off to find the Guild," Nepgear informed the boy as she and the brunette joined the group. "We weren't sure where you went…though Neptune kept saying something about you meeting Compa…and something about Partner Ranks…"

"Speaking of, I'm assuming you're the boy Histoire informed me about?" the brunette asked as she looked down at Rocky.

"Yeah…" the boy groaned before he gently shoved Neptune off him and sat up. "My name's—"

"Roquefort Dalton, but you prefer 'Rocky'."

"Uh…yeah…you knew how...?"

"These two told me a bit about you." She gestured to the Nep sisters.

"Oh." That made...perfect sense, actually: who else to tell her than the girls he had effectively been living with?

"I'm IF. Histoire told you to look for me, right?"

"Yeah!" Rocky jumped up and onto his feet. "Do you happen to know where I go to get registered?"

"Yeah, I actually do. I am a member of the Guild here. Follow me really quick." She led Rocky over to a small electronic booth. "Now, just input the information prompted." She then tapped something on the screen to go into the process.

"Right!" Rocky said as he looked through the fields of text he needed to fill in. "Name…Roquefort Dalton…Age…fifteen…Landmass…?"

"It helps identify you for purposes involving loyalty. It can be changed at any time."

"Um…I'm just going to leave that as undecided for now…I would select Planeptune, but I don't really know much about the other landmasses, so until I have a better idea of them I don't want to align myself with the default."

"Hey!" Neptune protested. "The default for you right now is a fun fest! And we get to break the fourth wall!"

"…Exactly why I'm not deciding right now…anyways…Sex…male…would you like to be an organ donor?"

"It's a new feature in case you want to do that," IF told him.

"I guess no? I mean, I'd like to keep my liver and lungs…address…erm…what's the address of the Basilicom?"

"Just put in 'Planeptune Basilicom' for now. You can change that too if you ever move."

"Right…" Rocky inputted the rest of the data needed. "And that seems to be it…"

"Right. Now, just need a picture." IF led him over to an area in front of a camera, collecting a card that had printed out for him containing his information. She then set him in front of it and said, "Alright, say 'cheese'."

"Uh, cheese?" **CLICK!** "…Erm…"

"Almost…" IF placed the card into a machine and watched as it spat out the card again, this time containing a picture of Rocky. "And done." She then handed the card over to Rocky. "Your own personal identification card. Use this when registering for Quests and services around here. Taking on Quests is free, but you have to pay for access to some other features."

"Uh…right…" Rocky took the ID card and placed it in one of his pockets. "Thanks."

"Oh, and just eff-why-eye, try to take on low-class Quests for now if you're still new at this sort of thing."

Rocky raised an eyebrow. "Low-class?"

IF raised her hands defensively. "I don't mean it like that! Just…there's a tier system for Quests."

"Tier?"

"Yeah. How do I put it? Well…anyone could do a super-easy Quest, like kill Dogoo or something. Simple enemy bounty kills and all that. Those types are examples of the lowest rank you can get for Quests." The brunette then fished out a flyer of sorts. "Here. Have a look."

Rocky accepted the flyer and perused it, noting the different tiers of Quests. There were the E-Ranks, which were like what IF had told him. Just above them were the D-Rank ones, which seemed to have an example of gathering Dogoo Jelly. C-Rank Quests had what seemed to be tougher enemies to handle, and the same went for B-Rank ones. At the A-Rank tier, there seemed to be a single item to collect but it being rare for their example, and the S-Rank ones…

"How come there's a class that high?" Rocky asked IF.

"Oh, the highest rank is usually reserved for CPUs and anyone strong enough to handle them. Which you have to be in your seventies for levels in order to even contemplate doing them.

"Ah." Rocky mentally looked over his memories of things. From his knowledge, Nepgear was only Level 6 alongside him, and he had no clue about Neptune's. "So…what kind of Quests do you handle, IF?"

"Ah, good question." IF looked at the flyer and pointed to one of the ranks. "I usually deal with D-Ranks, though I have dabbled in a bit of C-Ranks."

"Oh. I see…"

IF chuckled a bit. "You can get there as well, Rock."

"…Please, for the love of the goddesses…"

"Oh, right. Histoire also noted something about a possible dislike for that nickname…" IF laughed nervously. "My bad…"

"For the last time, I am not some guy wearing a set of blue armor! Nor do I know a man named Doctor Light!" Rocky then groaned before sighing.

"…All good?"

"Yeah…"

"Anyways, let's see what Quests you can take on for today." IF then led the girls and Rocky off to go look at some Quests.

 _{IF's Partner Rank Progression: 32%}_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wow…" Rocky found himself saying as he was reading through some of the Quests in order to find a Quest he could handle. "There's so many low-rank ones…"

"Well, somebody's gotta handle them," IF told him as she looked at a few of them. "I mean, experience does help with the whole 'going places' thing, so…"

"I know that. But…why is it we need to collect a lot of Dogoo Jelly? Or…Petals? I want to find a mission that would require me to fight some tough enemy."

"Well, those might be a bit too much for you."

"I dunno," Neptune told the brunette. "This guy's already taken on a Guard Vermin with the help of Nep Junior."

"Wait, what?" IF then pointed to Rocky and Nepgear. "Hang on, this guy took on a Guard Vermin with Nepgear being unable to enter her goddess form?! What the hell?!"

"I'm still a bit surprised by that, to be honest," Nepgear admitted. "I mean, if Rocky hadn't used that new weapon he got just then, I probably wouldn't be standing here to talk about it."

"That's not the point, Gear! The point is that this guy shouldn't have dealt with a Guard Vermin! What were you two even doing anyways?!"

"Well…we were just doing some routine monster exterminating. Neptune and I decided to let Rocky tag along since he had been doing nothing but train with the Leanbox Kinect for the last few days, and, well…"

IF then sighed. "Alright, I can see him being with you for that. But what about the weapon you mentioned? All I see are those ones on him…erm…" IF then raised an eyebrow. "What are those things anyways?"

"They're my weapons," Rocky told her as he readied them and flicked the triggers up to activate each one's Sword Mode. "I call them 'Gemini', but separately they're Castor and Pollux."

"Alright…but what are they?"

Rocky blinked. "Erm…sword-gun combination weapons?"

"…You have no idea what they're called, do you?"

"I think I do, but the simplest name I get is a 'gunblade'."

"And that term reminds me of some of the old weapons used by some people in Lastation," Nepgear added. "One of the earliest ones resembled an extremely large knife with a revolver base. I think someone going by the name 'Leon' used it…"

"Alright…I'll just take that answer then…" IF concluded before she shook her head. "So what about which one having which name?"

"Castor is the one in my left hand, and Pollux is the one in my right," Rocky said confidently.

"And how do you tell the difference?"

"…My grip?"

"Oh, I think I get it!" Compa called out of left field. "The grip on your weapons feels like they belong with their corresponding hands, so if you shift them to the opposite hand they don't feel natural to you. Right?"

"…Is it scarier that Compa figured that out when she uses a syringe or that the logic is so sound I have no idea why I didn't realize it sooner?" IF asked, baffled by the nurse-in-training's comment.

"I'm not sure…" Nepgear and Rocky replied at the same time.

"Erm…yeah," the boy then added as he flicked the triggers back down to withdraw the blades before sheathing his weapons. "But not quite like that. I have them marked on the grip themselves. See?" He then turned around and pointed at the gunblades, which had the word "Castor" or "Pollux" on their corresponding grip. "I kinda trained myself to use both at the same time…makes for some good combos, at least."

"Right," IF said before she spotted a Quest on the screen. "Oh, hold on. I should grab this Quest."

"What Quest is it?" Neptune asked her friend.

"It's one that had been giving some people trouble. A bunch of Tulips, mainly."

"How come it's causing so much problems?" Nepgear asked next.

"I'm not sure. Reports suggest that there's a tough monster in the area. The parties that take it on are usually teams of two or three, and they seem to have trouble with it. Though at least we're not all mainly damage-dealers…still, a team of five damage-dealers shouldn't have too much trouble, but they can only clear out so much before they have to retreat to get healed outside the area."

"Hmm…" Rocky said as he thought about it. "What rank is it?"

"It's a Rank…Sea." IF then got an idea. "What say the five of us take on this Quest as a team?"

"Wait, for real?!" Neptune shouted. "I thought we were here to help Rock get a Quest, not go on one!"

"You know, I'm pretty sure Miss Histoire would like to not have to constantly tell you to get some Quests done every day. Seriously, you don't really seem to do anything."

"Hey, Vert is just as bad!"

"But at least she knows when to get her work done…even if she usually leaves it to her Oracle most of the time…"

"Maybe this is a good chance for you to get that Partner Rank you've been talking about…" Nepgear told her older sister.

"Right…the mythical 'Partner Rank' Nep's been complaining about for quite some time…"

"Well, I'd love to come along!" Compa said quickly. "I can get to know Rocky a bit more and hang out with Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge!"

IF nodded in agreement. "I can evaluate Rocky here for his effectiveness in battle. After all, if he's going to be helping with Quests then he's got to be able to handle combat."

"Alright, fine!" Neptune called out. "Then Nep Junior and I will come along!"

"Neptune?" Nepgear asked in confusion.

"I can see what weapon he got from that one level in Nepgear's Rank as well as try getting mine up as well." She then hopped onto Rocky's back. "And we're not stopping until we get that rank, alright?"

"Uh…right?" Rocky asked more than replied. "Wait, why are you on my back?!"

"Well, I don't know how this 'Partner Rank' works, but I know that it's gotta have something to do with bonding, so I'm going to ride on your back and you're going to love it."

"I don't know why Nep's getting all…attached like that…" IF commented. "It doesn't seem like her, to be honest…"

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the main heroine of the series, and Nepgear got the first rank ever from him!"

"Well, I did have the leading role of my own game…" Nepgear pointed out. "Well, until the next game…"

Rocky looked at the younger Nep sister.

"What?" he asked.

"Onwards, Rock!" Neptune called out.

Rocky groaned. "I'm not the Blue Bomber!"

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **...I cannot promise that Mega Man references/jokes are done. Let's just hope I don't go overboard with them, okay?**

 **Anyways, I might make this a sort of habit for this story and make some notes about this chapter, so...let's see:**

 **1) Said Mega Man references/jokes: ...Self-explanatory. Doesn't help that, on thinking about this section of the notes, both are seeming like they're influenced in their weapons based on their environments, with Rocky's adapting based on links and Mega Man Rock (at least) getting new weapons from the Robot Masters he beats.**

 **2) Compa's and IF's Partner Rank growth: I'm going to work on this, but most likely it'll be that going from Rank 0 (initial state) to Rank 1 (the point where a weapon forms from the bond) will seem rather fast, though it will definitely be getting slower progression the higher it gets, with Rank 10 being the highest, of course. Mainly because I'd have to think of a whole lot of passives and actives Rocky would learn all the way up to Rank 100 if I didn't stop it at 10.**

 **3) Histoire's kaomoji: Hopefully this isn't going to get too dragged out for her. I know that it's part of her character at this point, so removing it completely would be dumb to me, but at the same time I don't think she'd always employ it. So I'm taking the middle ground and treating her like how a Prinny would use "dood". Let's hope that this goes well?**

 **Anyways, I think that's all I have for the notes.**

 **Right! That thing I mentioned earlier before!**

 **I'm not sure how much you guys would like to see the idea, but I'm considering starting a prologue story of sorts taking a deeper look into Rocky's life before his entry into the Turbodimension. I figured that it might be fun to see how Rocky starts out before he ended up in this dimension and see what led to his entrance. There would be some...slight (depends on your view) issues with the idea. I won't discuss the details too much since I won't start publishing it until I can finish this arc with the next chapter, but I will say this: it does involve an infamous(?) ending for Mk2/RB2 for a starting point (honestly, this seems like the best idea I can do to tell it how I'm seeing it for this project/series).**

 **Still, it'll be a while. So in the meantime, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter and what you guys think of the prologue idea (might be more of a prequel or something).**

 **Thanks for sticking around until then, and I hope to see you guys in the next update. Well, much faster than over a year.**


	3. The Boss is a Flower?

**Hello, and welcome back. I have no clue when this is being uploaded to the story, but I can tell you that the doc I made for this chapter was created soon after I updated the story last time, so...there's that. I think right now I'm more inclined to work on this story for a bit since, in order to help me get the creative juices flowing for how combat would go and what to try incorporating to make it more unique but not too cluttered, I decided to try playing through the game that inspired it in the first place once more. Well, hopefully this time eventually finish said game.**

 **Anyways, before we get into this, let's get to the reviews from the last chapter:**

 _LightDusk16_ **: That's a good point you bring up concerning the suggestion of when to publish that prologue. It does make sense given if I'm not careful I'd give something away. And plus people might read that first since it would be a prequel of sorts, so...I might do it once I can get a few arcs going, at least. Might be fifth arc or maybe sixth, and even then it'd be slow-going. I will definitely make sure that, no matter what, the truth of how Rocky ends up in this dimension is revealed here first, so when it happens I can close out the prologue without worrying about much more spoilers at that point (not sure how much spoilers there'd be at that point in the story, so it'd depend). Still, thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this update.**

 **And that's it for the reviews so far. Let's get going to the final chapter of this arc...which I didn't give a name to...**

 _ **How about...the Intro Arc? The next arc is most likely going to be called something like "the Wanderer Arc" or something, so we'll workshop a name for future arc names.**_

 **Sure...we'll go with that.**

 **Anyways, on to the chapter and the finale to the "Intro Arc"!**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 3: Partner Ranks, Bondage, and Transformation (The Boss is a Flower?!)**

And so our heroes spent some time after leaving the Basilicom…going back to Compa's place in order to get some last-minute supplies.

"…Why are we making a stop here again?" Rocky asked IF as everyone except Compa was waiting outside her apartment. Neptune was still riding on his back, though he was somehow able to tune her presence out from his body. Even though it was now feeling like something was wrong due to not remembering that the CPU was still clinging on to his back.

"Because Compa wanted to get some snacks?" IF replied in the form of a question, like it should have been common knowledge to the boy. To Neptune, she added, "You've been on there for the last five minutes or so. Aren't you a bit worried about the amount of stares you got just from being there?"

Rocky did notice that he and Neptune got a bunch of stares from people. He could only guess what some of them were for, though...

"Nope!" Neptune told her, making sure to make a popping sound for the "p". "I said I'm going to be riding on his back, and I mean it! A Nep-Nep doesn't go back on her word!"

"To be honest, I'm kinda not minding it for some reason…" Rocky admitted. "She feels a bit…light."

"Hey, I'm not that light!"

"You do resemble a young girl, Nep," IF pointed out. "And that's why people confuse Gear for being the older of you two."

"That is something I have thought about…is Neptune really the older sister?" Rocky asked the brunette.

"Yes. She's the Sea-Pee-You, so it's natural."

"Oh come on!" Neptune complained. "It's not like I can't transform and get all mature-looking or anything! Watch!" Neptune started giving off some light before she felt IF smack the back of her head, cutting off her transformation. "Ow! What gives, Iffy?!"

"Let's not waste your transformation before the Quest even starts!" IF chastised her. "If the monster giving people trouble is a tough one, you're the one who's transforming to beat it!"

Neptune then gave off a pout. "Iffy, that's not fair! I don't want to be the only one taking it on!"

"I'll help you out when it happens," Rocky told her.

Neptune looked at Rocky eagerly. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't get why you're obsessed with this Partner Rank thing, but we're a team right now, right?"

Neptune then nodded. "Yep! You're totes right! I just need to trigger the rank-up. And hopefully you trigger a flag at the same time…" That last bit was said in a lowered tone.

Rocky raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Nothing~!"

"Alright, I'm here!" Compa called out as she stepped out of her apartment.

"What did you get, Compa?" Nepgear asked.

"Some snacks and some drinks in case we get thirsty. Also, I packed some lunches I had on hand."

"…Are we going on a picnic or a Quest?" Rocky asked. Who brings that much food with them for a simple Quest?

"Why not both?" Neptune chose to reply with.

"It's just in case we get hungry along the way," IF told the boy. "Compa makes sure to pack a meal in the event we're still out when it's time to have a meal. At least, she does it for lunch."

"You should feel a bit honored," Neptune added. "Compa's cooking is divine."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Rocky said before he noticed Compa holding something out for him. "What is it, Compa?"

"I wanted you to try this," the nurse-in-training said as she was holding out a rice ball in front of her. "I had made some from yesterday and saved some of them just in case. I figured you might want to try something I made."

"Uh, thanks," Rocky took the rice ball and munched on it a bit before his eyes widened. He then swallowed the food. "Wow, Neptune wasn't kidding. This is really great for a rice ball!" He then scarfed down the rest of the rice ball.

"Thanks!" Compa smiled.

"Anyways, are we ready to get going?" IF asked the others. "We should be at the location in about half an hour."

"Yeah, I think we're ready," Rocky said for the others.

 _{Neptune's Partner Rank Progression: 84%; Compa's Partner Rank Progression: 66%}_

XXXXXXXXXX

A half-hour after leaving Compa's apartment, the team of five appeared at the entrance of a forest.

"I feel we've been here before…" Rocky said to Nepgear.

"You might have," IF told him. "Anyways, we're here for the Quest. Based on what I was reading on my phone—"

"Which one?" Neptune, still on Rocky's back, chose to ask.

"…My standard one, Nep. Why are you asking now?"

"Because you have a lot of phones on your belt, you know?"

IF didn't look amused. "And you're bringing this up why again?"

Neptune put a finger on her chin as she looked a bit innocently at the brunette. "Because I can?"

"So how far are these ruins?" Rocky asked IF.

"They shouldn't be too far…" IF replied. "You'll know when the concentration of Tulips gets abnormally high." She then remembered something. "Oh, right! We still need to form a party together! Who should we have as the leader?"

"Maybe have Rocky as the leader?" Nepgear asked. "I mean, you did want to 'evaluate' him, right, IF?"

"True." To Rocky, she added, "You know how to form parties, right?"

"Not really?" Rocky replied, confused.

IF sighed. "Alright. It's kinda simple: you can either do it manually by going into a device you configured to have your user interface on hand or you can do it vocally. Around here, you can make a vocal request by asking a fellow adventurer to join the party. Try it with me."

"Right…would you like to form a party, IF?"

IF nodded her head.

 **[IF has joined the party! Current Stats – HP: 1975/1975, SP: 1400/1400, AP: 110/110, Current Weapon: Qatars]**

"See?" the brunette added. "Now, try that with the others."

"I see…hey, Compa? Nepgear? Neptune? Do you mind joining my party?"

"Yessy!" Compa replied cheerfully.

"Of course, Rocky," Nepgear added with a nod of her head.

"Duh!" Neptune concluded. "We're a team, right?"

 **[Compa has joined the party! Current Stats – HP: 1650/1650, SP: 1750/1750, AP: 100/100, Current Weapon: Expired Liquid; Nepgear and Neptune have rejoined the party!]**

"And just as a heads-up," IF chose to disclose as well, "any new members you add to your party will have their current stats recorded in your interface's memory. You can use this to keep tabs on how far they came along since they first joined your party. And don't worry: you can always leave the party and retain their data, though you won't get their current stats if they come back in. Do avoid leaving a party in the middle of a Quest, raid, or dungeon; it's severely frowned upon, alright?"

"Erm…" Rocky said uncertainly. "Why would I leave the party that easily?"

"It happens."

"…Noted." Rocky then glanced at his HUD, which displayed the others' status above his. "Alright, so…lead the way, IF. You know where to go, right?"

"Yep. Come on, it's not too far, I hope."

"Right. Maybe we can get some experience while we're at it."

"Right. What's your levels?"

"I'm level six, Compa's…what were you again?"

"Oh, I'm about a Level Four or Five," Compa replied.

"Mine's five!" Neptune called out.

"Ah," Rocky replied. "Nepgear and I hit six after the Guard Vermin."

"Right," IF told them. "Well then, follow me."

XXXXXXXXXX

On the walk over, Rocky had to figure out how to change his commands. Which was easier said than done.

"How do you...change the commands on your equipment?" he asked the brunette of the group.

"Why do you want to do that?" IF asked him once she was asked the question, raising an eyebrow.

"Because with the Neptunia Blade I only had two commands," Rocky replied. "I figured that, if I could, I'd add two more commands to it."

"Oh. Still…I'm not sure if I can believe you on that, though."

Rocky furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you four use?"

"Well, usually a phone or a similar device works. Gear and Nep have the N-Gear. Compa and I have our phones. So…what about you?"

"I…have no idea…" Rocky idly stretched his left arm in front of him, bending it so it was parallel to the ground. Tightening his left fist, Rocky then watched as a holographic projection appeared from the watch. "What the-!"

"Whoa!" IF jumped back a bit. Doing so, she accidentally smacked Rocky's arm up, which in turn turned the projection off. "Hang on, how'd you do that?"

"When have you been able to do that?!" Neptune shouted.

"Turn it back on!" Nepgear added, looking excited. "Turn it back on!" She then received collective stares from her teammates, which caused her to blush and add in an embarrassed tone, "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

Neptune chuckled a little. "That's Nep Junior for ya. She's into tech. Like, a lot."

"I could tell…" Rocky said slowly. He then stared at his watch before he got an idea. "Actually, I think I might know…" He then repeated his movement, getting rewarded with the screen popping back up. "Alright, that worked."

"Oh, wow!" Nepgear said as she stared at the screen in awe. "This looks really advanced! I mean, we've got holographic projections ourselves…wait, is this Planeptune-made?"

"I have no idea…"

"If it is, then I wonder who made it. I mean, a watch isn't exactly the most ideal due to the intricacy involved. Not to mention the custom parts and stuff."

 _Intricacy involved?_ Rocky asked himself. "Anyways…" Rocky looked at the screen and found it to be a menu of sorts. Right now, he could see a slew of options on the left and his "team" on the right, with their stats sitting there. "Let's see…" He located an option called "Equipment". "Ooh! Maybe this is it!" He then gingerly poked at the option with his right index finger before it moved to a new menu, showing a list of characters to look at. Finding his, he tapped it and found himself looking at his equipment. Apparently, he had three slots under "Weapon Sets", with two of them being filled by either "Gemini" or "Neptunia Blade". He then tapped on "Neptunia Blade" to take a closer look and found the list of commands he could assign to it. "Alright, so just the first two. So what can I put on this?" He tapped a blank slot and found a list of commands. "Alright, so…I need to have…huh, I guess I can't use the 'Shoot' command with this, so…I guess I'll place a 'Dodge' on it for now." Making his adjustment, he then closed his menu by relaxing his arm.

"Alright, so we found out how you can do that," IF told him. "Now, we just need to get you some more commands."

"Oh, we could take him to the Command Shop," Compa suggested. "They might have some more specialized commands for him there!"

"But…he might be limited in what he can buy. Elemental commands aren't exactly for everyone, you know. Besides, certain commands can't be used by certain types of weapons. Swords don't shoot bullets, after all, and guns aren't expected to be able to slash things in half."

"Anyways, let's keep moving!" Neptune ordered. "We've got ranks to get!"

"Yes, Nep. We'll go work on the ranks…" IF sighed.

XXXXXXXXXX

After about thirty minutes of tracking down the location (well, trying to) and fighting any enemies they encountered (they got quite a few levels out of those encounters), the five of them reached a rather decrepit set of ruins with a bunch of vines growing about it.

"Wow," Rocky said, looking around in slight awe. "It hasn't crumbled yet?"

"This isn't going to be going away anytime soon," IF told him.

"It looks like it's been here for at least a century," Nepgear added.

"Still…" IF and Rocky looked around, noting that the ground was rather…peculiar: there were stone paths, yes, and some even circled around a patch of dirt, but…there was something…off. "I don't like this."

"I'm not sure," Rocky replied. "Could be someone was attempting to renovate or something. You did say others tried doing this Quest, right?"

"Yeah, but..." IF placed a hand on her chin and pondered over the situation. "There's no sign of any tough monsters around here…"

"Maybe Mister Monster isn't home right now," Compa reasoned. "He could be looking for some food."

"True. Still, something doesn't seem to be adding up…"

"What do you think, Neptune?" Nepgear asked. No responses were made. "…Neptune?"

"Oh, hey!" Neptune's voice called out. When the others looked at her, they realized that she had wandered to the center of the dirt patch, where a lone yellow flower was standing there. "I saw this flower over here and was wondering if it had a face on it. I guess not…still looks a bit interesting."

"Alright," IF said after sighing. "We should check around the ruins just to be sure."

"Right," Rocky said. To Neptune, he added, "Come on, Neptune. Let's get a move on."

"Alright, let me just get this flower," Neptune replied. "I'll call it Flowey and stick it in a pot for viewing." She knelt down to pull it out.

Rocky and the others turned around and started to move away from the CPU when the faint sound of ground being upheaved began emanating through the air. "…Uh…"

"Oh, good," IF said as she and the others stopped where they were. "I'm not the only one who heard that."

"I think we all did," Nepgear admitted. "Right, Neptune?"

Rocky turned to look at Neptune and soon found a pair of vines behind her, sticking out from the ground.

"Neptune!" he called out in shock. "Behind you!"

"Huh?" Neptune, apparently having failed to get the flower out of the ground, asked as she stood up and looked behind her…just in time to see the vines grab her by her left wrist and right ankle. "Nepu!" She tried pulling on the vines in an effort to get them to let go but didn't' get anywhere. In fact, they kept her from moving her limbs. "W-what?!"

"The hell?!" IF called out as she flicked her arms to her sides, letting a blade pop out from under each sleeve. "Nep, stand still!"

"Hang on, Nep-Nep!" Compa added, reaching behind her and materializing a giant syringe from there before readying it with both hands, her left hand near the needle while her right hand rested at the injecting/drawing end.

"Hold tight, Neptune!" Nepgear included, her Beam Saber appearing in her hand. "We're coming!"

"What she said!" Rocky concluded, readying Gemini.

Before anyone could take a step to rescue Neptune, the ground shook violently as vines appeared from under Neptune, wrapping around her legs and arms before hoisting her up into the air as the flower started to…rise?

"Oh great…" Rocky groaned as he started watching the flower start getting a lot less innocent-looking.

By the time the ground stopped shaking twenty seconds later, the dirt around where Neptune and the flower used to be was upheaved, and a giant plant-like monstrosity stood there, a thick stem coming down from the flower for the body and two equally-thick vines for its "arms". Those "arms" did taper off into a thin vine, maybe for grabbing or whipping at its foes. Neptune was helpless at the moment, being held up in front of it.

"So…any ideas?" Rocky asked rhetorically.

"We fight it!" IF called out.

"I know that! But…how?"

 **[BATTLE START!]**

"Could you guys hurry up please?" Neptune called out. "I'm not exactly liking the view." To Rocky, she added, "And don't you dare look up, Rocky!"

"…What?" Rocky asked dumbly.

"Transform, Neptune!" Nepgear told her sister.

"Oh, right!" Neptune started squirming around a bit. "Transform!" Nothing. " _Henshin!_ " Still nothing. "By the power of Planeptune!" And…still nothing. "Welp, I think I'm boned…maybe this monster's keeping me from transforming…that, or the author doesn't want me to until the time's right, in which case, hurry up you!"

"Anyways!" IF said quickly. "I've got an idea. If this thing's a plant, then it's gotta play out like Pocketed Monstrosities. So fire should beat it."

"One problem, though…none of us have any fire-based commands," Rocky pointed out.

"I've got that covered. Watch this!" IF then started glowing red before she said, throwing her right arm ahead of her, " **Demon Flames**!" A patch of fire erupted from the base of the monster. This made it writhe a bit, but it didn't seem to do much. "Must be more resilient than I thought. Could have a high Mentality."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Bad. Intellect determines magic strength, like my **Demon Flames**. Mentality is the magic defense."

"…I'm confused."

"I have an idea myself!" Nepgear shouted. "We should focus on getting Neptune down. As long as she's up there, she can't help out or transform!"

"Good thinking, Gear," IF complimented the CPU Candidate. "Rocky, can you run a distraction? I can try getting **Demon Flames** off so that it'd hit the vines holding Nep."

"You'd risk hitting Neptune!" Rocky pointed out.

"Right…forgot." Just then, the four combatants saw an "arm" coming down on them, and the group split, with IF and Nepgear going on one side and Compa and Rocky going on the other. "We'll try getting to Nep! Focus on the enemy for now, though!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Rocky shifted weapon sets and slashed at the "arm" with the Neptunia Blade. "Take some of this!" This was rewarded with him being smacked back by the arm. "Ow." [ **Rocky:** 2254/2900 HP, 781/1750 SP, 90/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: Neptunia Blade; **IF:** 100% HP, 23% SP, Current Weapon Set: Qatars; **Nepgear:** 100% HP, 45% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber; **Compa:** 100% HP, 41% SP, Current Weapon Set: Expired Liquid]

"Are you alright, Rocky?" Compa asked him before she ended up holding up her syringe in order to block an attack by the "arm". She found herself shaking as it pulled back to swing at the other two. "Ouchies…"

"Compa, what about you?"

"I'm fine…I think…"

"Keep Compa safe!" IF called out. "She's our medic, remember?"

"Right," Rocky said as he readied himself again. Shifting into his gunblades, Rocky then aimed at the main body and shot two rounds from each before aiming both weapons at it and pulling the trigger at the same time, scoring a critical hit from both ending shots. "Gotcha!"

" **Demon Flames**!" Another burst of flames hit the main body of the monster.

" **Slash Wave**!" Nepgear called out as she performed her skill. This ended up making the plant swing its "arms" wildly, smacking them all around. "I think we've almost got it…"

"Maybe…" Rocky replied as he felt his body aching. That plant hit hard, he realized. Looking over at Compa, he got worried as she was bending over a bit as she was nursing her right arm with her left hand, her syringe along the ground. "Compa!"

"I'm fine…" Compa said weakly. "Just…need some healing…" [ **Rocky:** 1824/2900 HP, 902/1750 SP, 45/100 AP, Current Weapon Set: Neptunia Blade; **IF:** 46% HP, 11% SP, Current Weapon Set: Qatars; **Nepgear:** 52% HP, 31% SP, Current Weapon Set: Beam Saber; **Compa:** 11% HP, 41% SP, Current Weapon Set: Expired Liquid]

"Hang on, I'll grab some Healing Grass for you!" Nepgear called out as she handed the nurse-in-training said item. She did the same for IF and Rocky. "Sorry, but that's all I had left."

"What about you then?" Rocky asked as IF and Compa ate the grass. He clutched his in his left hand, having sheathed Castor to do so.

"I'll be fine. I've got some healing magic to use. Course, it's not as good as Rom's…"

"Huh?" Who was Rom?

"Here." Nepgear started glowing green before she touched her left hand to her chest. " **Heal**!" Rocky then watched as she regained some health. "Again, it's not much, but it'll do for now."

"Uh, right…" Rocky digested his Healing Grass and readied Castor once more. "Let's hit this in the following order: IF, you use yours first. Nepgear, can you get in close?"

"Yeah, but…how close?"

"As close to those vines as you can. I'll try hitting them with some shots."

"I'll help too!" Compa added as she readied her syringe properly once more. "I can use this to shoot at enemies!"

"Uh…right…" Rocky then looked at the plant monster as it brought both "arms" down to its side. It soon started glowing green.

 _Flowey is charging._

"I don't like that…" IF said slowly.

"Let's try dodging it, if possible," Nepgear added.

"Dodge?" Rocky asked. "We need to split up, make sure that it can't hit all of us with whatever attack it's charging. You girls get away from here and I'll-"

"Hold on!" Compa said quickly. "We need to heal!"

"Huh?" Rocky asked. "Why?"

"If Mister Monster's attack goes off, it might end this battle for us. I can't in good conscious allow my friends to just die!"

"Wait…friends?" That's right, Compa considered him a friend, didn't she?

"Yessy!" Compa looked really determined.

"Alright," IF said finally. "Compa's right. We need all the health we can get. Everyone gather up!"

"Right!" Nepgear said as she, Compa, and IF clustered around Rocky. "I hope we're not too close, Rocky…"

"Okay, now, Compa…cast your skill and hold a defense. At least the damage reduction will help. Try to be careful about timing for a perfect, alright?"

"Right!" Compa said as she started glowing green as well. "I'll patch you up!" she threw her left arm up into the air as a green circle surrounded the four of them. " **First Aid**!" The team then felt their health get replenished.

 _Flowey used_ _ **Omega Growth**_ _!_

Rocky felt his left arm giving off some energy for some reason as he raised in front of him, hoping to stop the attack coming in.

"Rocky, wait—" IF said before the ground quaked and a bunch of roots started barreling towards them. "Dammit!" She raised her arms as she activated her "Guard" command, closing her eyes to bear the brunt of the damage to her.

"Guys!" Neptune's voice called out.

"Protect!"

The attack slammed into them hard, but…for some reason, it didn't feel as bad as it looked.

"Huh?" IF asked as she found herself smack against a wall, her back to it. "Gah!" Looking around slowly, she found Nepgear lying still on the ground alongside Compa. "Oh crap…please no…"

"Owwie…" Compa groaned as she slowly and painfully sat up. "My body hurts…"

"Same here…" Nepgear added as she sat up slowly.

"Oh…thank the goddesses…" If said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I thought you two got knocked out big time."

"I sure feel like it…"

"But…" IF looked at her status and saw that she only had twenty-two percent of her total health left. "How come it didn't do as much?"

"Iffy…?" Compa said as she pointed somewhere.

"That felt like it should have wiped us out right then and there, but..."

The other girls looked at where she was pointing and found Rocky standing there…panting. In his right hand was the Neptunia Blade, but in his left hand was a strange futuristic pistol, colored black. "What the…"

"Are you three alright?" Rocky asked them, panting while asking.

"Yeah…" all three told him.

"Good…this thing's recharging…"

True enough, the plant monster was hunched over, like it was regaining the energy it used for its attack.

 _Flowey is recharging!_

"Right…better get this done…" IF said as she fixed herself. "Ready…Gear?"

"Ready…" Nepgear added as she got onto her feet.

"Go now!" Rocky commanded.

Nepgear rushed in as fast as she could, with IF readying her spell.

" **Demon Flames**!" IF called out as her attack hit the Flowey.

" **Mirage Dance**!" Nepgear added as she performed her attacking dance on the vines. "Now, Rocky!"

"Good!" Rocky replied as he readied the gun in his left hand. " **Rapid Fire**!" He started firing a stream of bullets that shredded into the remaining vines.

Soon, Neptune found herself falling, and she wasted no time in righting herself and sliding down the Flowey's body, landing on the ground in a roll before she reached the others.

"Thanks for the assist, guys!" Neptune said. "Nice teamwork!"

"Thanks, Neptune…" Nepgear said as she smiled.

"No problem," IF added.

"Now…" Neptune said as she turned to face the Flowey. "Alright, you! I tried taking you home with me, but you decided to rebel! So now it's time to face the consequences, buddy!"

"Let me help!" Nepgear said as she took a step, only to find herself spilling onto the floor. "Ow…"

"We should probably get some rest," IF said as she fell onto her knees. "Compa looks like she really needs some."

"I'll keep going," Rocky said. "Besides, I still have one more gear to show this thing. If not two by now."

"Then by all means!" Neptune said. Looking at Nepgear, she added, "Don't worry, little sis. I'll beat this mean old flower for what it did to you guys."

"Thanks, Neptune…" Nepgear said slowly. "Be careful, alright?"

"No problem-o!" Neptune then looked at Rocky. "Alright, it's time to fight alongside a goddess. Got what it takes to keep up?"

"Depends," Rocky said. "I'll do my best."

"All I ask!" Neptune then let herself be surrounded by a pillar of white light that seemed to be accented by purple before she came out of it…looking different. Like, completely different. Gone was the young-looking body of Neptune, and in its place was a more mature woman with long pigtails. She wore a purple bodysuit that seemed to have some armor pieces accompanying it alongside some wings along with some gloves that reached up to the middle of her upper arms as well as boots that went up to her mid-thighs, with some going past it. Her lilac-colored hair was even longer and braided, going down quite a distance. "Lady Purple Heart, ready to fight!" Her voice even sounded more mature.

"What the…" Rocky said slowly in awe.

"Are you ready, Roquefort?" Rocky looked at the newly-transformed Neptune and noted her blue eyes with some sort of symbol in them, a power symbol on closer inspection.

"Um…yeah…"

"Alright. I'll need you to give me an opening, alright?"

"Yeah!" Rocky shifted into Gemini. "I'll get in close. You cover me until I get there!"

"Right." Neptune charged up to the Flowey as it recovered, slashing at it with a large katana she summoned into her hands. "I'll be your target." The Flowey swung one of its "arms" at the CPU, but she ducked under it before she switched out her katana for a futuristic pistol, taking aim at the main body before firing a few shots at it. "Take this!" In response, the Flowey swung its other "arm" at her back, something she didn't notice…

Until Rocky dashed behind her as he shifted into a new set, raising his left arm as a large shield started forming. The shield was in the shape of a circle, with four segments poking out from the edges. In the face, the segments formed a plus sign that was cream-colored, and the rest of the face looked to be white.

"Hard Guard!" Rocky shouted as he was wrapped in a silver aura, the shield receiving the brunt of the attack. He stood his ground as a katana with a purple-tinted blade formed in his right hand, using it to stab into the "arm" and making it writhe in pain. "I've got it! Get it now!"

"Right!" Neptune called out as she looked at the main body. "Time for this: **Cross Combination**!" She then dashed at the Flowey, striking at it multiple times before she slashed upwards, jumping up and slashing downward. This ended up making the Flowey shudder heavily before it tensed up. A few seconds later, and the main body fell towards the duo, the only thing saving them was Neptune tackling Rocky in order to get both of them to safety. The Flowey then burst into a bunch of pixilated bits, scattering across the winds before dissipating themselves.

[ **Victory! +200 XP, +1040 Credits, Rocky's Leveled up! 9 - 11, Nepgear's Leveled Up! 9 - 11, IF's Leveled Up! 9 - 11, Compa's Leveled Up! 8 - 10, Neptune's Leveled Up! 8 - 10** ]

"Are you alright, Roquefort?" Neptune asked Rocky as the two lied there, the boy trying to get his bearings.

"Uh, yeah...I'm fine..." Rocky said slowly as he realized the situation he was in: he had Neptune laying on top of him. Well, not the Neptune he was used to seeing, but given she was a CPU, this must be her when her HDD Mode was activated. "Hey, uh..."

"What is it?"

"...You're a little...too close..."

"Hmm?" Neptune then remembered that she had been on top of him. "Sorry, I needed to get you away from being squished under that monster. I do apologize." She made to get up before Rocky stopped her by placing his left hand on her right shoulder. "Roquefort?"

"Sorry, but...I haven't seen you in this form before now, so...I wanted to take a good look at it." He was trying to figure out how the young girl could transform into this woman. More specifically, was it really Neptune inside her still?

"Oh. Well, there's not much to see, sorry to say. But I am Lady Purple Heart, goddess of Planeptune."

"I kinda figured as much. But...do you mind if I call you 'Neptune' while in that form? Saying that would be a while."

"I do not see why not. After all, Iffy and Compa still call me by their chosen nicknames, so you can too."

"Thanks." The two soon got up, Rocky letting go of Neptune as the shield gave off a slight flash as it soon compacted into a shield that was thinner width-wise and covered Rocky's hand in a sort of cup-shaped section of the shield.

"Now, I'm afraid I must revert. I am getting a bit tired..." Neptune entered another flash of light before she was replaced with the young hoodie-wearing girl. "...And I'm back to normal. So, Rock, how did I look?"

"...Stop calling me Rock...but you looked...cute." The boy blushed a bit.

Neptune sighed. "Alright, I guess I can't push the Partner Rank any farther without accidentally messing it up. Anyways..." She then noticed the shield and katana. "Ooh! Is that my weapon to you?" She pointed to the katana.

"Yeah. The system called it the 'Fang Katana'. The shield's the 'Medical Shield'." He shook his head to clear his face.

"Ah, so I guess Compa's got a weapon for you as well. Though...what's with the shield? I'd have thought it'd be a syringe since she uses those, ya know?"

"I'm not sure myself...maybe it's based on a person's ideals?"

"Well, whatever." Neptune shrugged her shoulders. "We got our rank up, so now I shouldn't be hounding you about it…but then again…" Neptune then jumped on Rocky's back again. "I wonder how high we can make that sucker go. Let's max it out, buddy!"

"M-max it out?!" Rocky looked shocked. "D-do you even know _what_ the max is?!"

"Nope!" Again, Neptune popped the "p". "That's why we're going to explore it! Together!"

Rocky's vision was soon covered by a few notifications.

{ _Your connection with Neptune has forged a new weapon. Quick yet powerful, the weapon_ _ **Fang Katana**_ _has been granted to you. Your connection with Compa has forged a new weapon. Defending your friends and allies or supporting them, the weapon_ _ **Medical Shield**_ _has been granted to you. Your connection to IF has forged a new weapon. A complement to the Neptunia Blade, the weapon_ _ **Idea Blaster**_ _has been granted to you._ }

"If Rocky's Partner Rank can go higher with us," Nepgear reasoned, "then maybe new things could happen."

"I still don't get it, but I'm game to find out," IF said after some thought. "Who knows? Maybe you can do some cool things with a high enough rank for one of us?"

"Yeppie!" Compa concluded. "I wanna get mine higher with Rocky so we can be better friends!"

Rocky sighed as he looked up at the sky.

 _You seeing this, Mom?_ He thought to himself. _I've got four girls, all of whom I feel are familiar to me somehow, with me…am I going to be given a harem for atonement or something?_ He then blinked. "The hell did the idea of a harem come from?"

"Dunno, but it is a natural possibility~," Neptune told him.

Rocky was taken aback. "Hang on, who said I even wanted a harem?!"

"Oh, you want one~! See, even your body unconsciously wants one. After all, why do you have a Partner Rank for each of us individually?"

Nepgear and Compa giggled as IF sighed.

"Alright, Nep," the brunette told the CPU. "You can torture Rocky about the idea of a harem all you want when we get back to the city. Right now, I'd like to leave before anything more dangerous than...what was apparently called a Flowey comes over."

"As long as it's not a skeleton with a blue eye, we'll be fine, though!" Neptune replied.

"Even more reason to get going for now."

"Aw, alright then..."

"Thanks, IF..." Rocky added.

"Don't thank me," IF told him. "We do need to get going anyways. Besides, you technically live with her and Gear, so..."

"...Is that implying that I have an unofficial harem just because I'm living at the Basilicom? Or are you saying that I might not even find someone to love because I've got those two?"

"Yes."

"...That doesn't help my case one bit..."

"Anyways, let's go then."

"Right..."

The group soon left the ruins, heading back to Planeptune City for now.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **And there we go. Hopefully the stats aren't going to be the end of my sanity. Took me a bit doing some edits to fill in some blanks for Rocky, so I'll have to get a little stat sheet or something to track how much his stats grow. I think I have a sheet like that somewhere, just have to find it.**

 **Anyways, this closes out the first arc of the story. Normally, I do a two-part arc with the rare three-part or one-part arcs, so it'll be a bit nice to have these arcs planned to be three parts overall, linked by an idea if not a storyline. Still, let's see how it goes, right?**

 **Now, let's see...this time, notes are a bit difficult since I can't name much right off the bat, so...ah! something, at least:**

 **1) Neptune's weight/Rocky's lifting strength: I dunno why I'm making this a note, but glancing back at the wiki (well, _a_ wiki) shows Neptune's weight at 38 kg. Now...normally this is where I'd go "she's rather light, but it does make sense given her looks", but given Rocky's blocked a downward swing from a Guard Vermin, which I'd imagine the sword is large enough and thick enough to be rather heavy when swung, especially downward, Rocky's lifting strength shouldn't be too much of a problem. Though...once I get a calculation of that entire sword in general, I might have an answer for any interested about what the weight of it is and how much it's swinging for.**

 **2) New Weapons: this one might be the best time to explain my choices for these weapons given...well, things: let's start with the Fang Katana. It's a katana, so it matches with Neptune's weapon type. And the name is based on the Holy Fang Blade from Re;Birth1. As for IF's weapon, it's the Idea Blaster. The name's...one that's more based on it being a handgun (hand blaster, more specifically) than anything. And the "Idea" references the same "Idea" for "Idea Factory". As for why it's a pistol and not a pair of qatars? I figured it'd look better like that. And makes it better at being paired up with other one-handed weapons. And finally: Compa's weapon. The Medical Shield is named based on her profession and the idea of protecting people, so there's that. Ideally, this weapon will have an offensive use, but right now it's more of a defensive equipment.**

 **3) Flowey: ...Do I need to explain this reference (from Undertale)? I mean, for starters it's a flower. And it has a more...grotesque form. Nothing rivaling its namesake, but I think keeping it more possibly-root themed helps for it.**

 **And I think that's it for notes right now.**

 **Oh! I've been playing** _Super Neptunia RPG_ **to test how well it runs on my computer currently (apparently, for being made in Unreal, it's not too bad on the operating end? Must be due to the models being more 2D than 3D; I'll have to check on the development story for the game and see what techniques they use), and so far it definitely feels interesting as far as the feel of it goes. So I'm planning on streaming it on Twitch with a new save file. Luckily, I've only played it for about...six hours total on the test file (I found myself playing it a lot. I seriously wonder how much of a sucker I am for RPGs...), but I feel like it might be a bit more entertaining to try streaming it and interacting with you guys. So the plan is that I'll be trying it again starting Thursday (June 27) at 10 am PDT (I live in California-take that how you will), complete with a mic so you can listen to me...well, make weird noises or what have you. So if you're able to, come join me Thursday at 10 am PDT (on Twitch, my username is NeuroiHunterRS. You'll know it's the right one if you see my profile picture here for that channel since I edited it to make identifying it easier). After that, I'll see if I can figure out a consistent schedule for the rest of the summer and see about playing more games for variety.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys have enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter so far as well as anything you guys want to let me know.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you in the next update!**


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